27/11/2021
EXCERPTS AND TAKE AWAYS FROM THE SPEECH OFFERED BY H.E PROFESSOR SARAH ANYANG AGBOR, COMMISSIONER, HUMAN RESOURCES, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AT AUC ON THE OCCASION OF DIANA RY'S LAUNCH WEBINAR, 25.11.2021.
"As you may know, the African Union does not minimise any effort to support initiatives that mobilise the diaspora towards Africa, the diaspora often termed as Africa’s sixth region…"
"DIANA ry’s mission to mobilise expertise of Africans in the diaspora to fill teaching and research gaps in Africa, important purview of my office seduced me, the commissioner most…The AUC finds the birthing of the Diaspora academic Network for Africa, one of the greatest initiatives that holds the key to the achievements of the Agenda 2063...".
"It is clear that DIANA ry will need all of the political support to ensure its success. This political support I reassure DIANA ry, donor agencies and development partners will be availed to DIANA in a bid to ensure they work successfully towards fulfilling their agenda of helping develop the African higher education space...".
"DIANA’s innovative model of establishing African representatives to link diaspora academics to the “needy African Universities” promises to be a model that will hasten the developmental efforts of African higher education...".
"This bold vision is an Africa where all educational institutions, particularly higher educational institutions will have access to African diasporas coming home to give back to the continent...".
"…I can imagine that there is still a lot space for the intellectual African diaspora to participate and raise several African Higher Education systems to world class standards…. If many African Universities are joining the club of the best ranked universities today, there are still new generation of African Universities, private universities that needs the diaspora expertise…"
"Even then, the African universities in the club of excellence will continuously need expertise from Africans and their foreign colleagues from the world's centres of excellence to diversify programmes offerings, provide new cutting-edge programmes to meet the pace of the 4th industrial revolution".
"I can imagine that this diaspora unity around education for Africa, is a home coming opportunity not only to your home countries but to discover other African countries, within African Union’s mission of social cohesion. Uniting around education is the right process towards social cohesion but above all, for more mutual trust between the African home countries, universities and the diaspora".
